Pass the mic

I have to get some things off my chest in light of the Sandy Hook tragedy. You may not agree, and that's OK...

1. Guns. I grew up in a house with guns. Several of them. I know many of my friends who grew up the same. In my 13 years of grade school, no one ever brought a gun to school. The biggest threat we had was kids getting on the wrong bus to go home, or some idiot who wanted to get out of taking a test would call in a bomb threat and we'd all have to go sit out on the football field for an hour. No on ever showed up with a gun, much less shot anyone. Guns are not the major issue here. School shootings are an indirect result of a society that has become a culture of mental instability, a lack of self-respect or value of life. I meet children who speak to their parents like they are worthless individuals that just happen to be living under the same roof, yet they get away with it. Children are exposed to adult content too early and they become desensitized to it all by the time they reach their teenage years. I do believe that we, as a nation, should come up with stricter gun laws. But I don't think this would solve the problem. When is the last time you met a criminal that cared a lick about laws? I remember in high school how easy it was to get our hands on alcohol. I remember getting drunk at a field party. Did I care that I was only 17, and 4 years too young to be drinking? No. I did not. However, that was in 1999. Obviously things have changed.

2. God. In elementary school we recited the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. A student would get on the intercom in the office and lead the school while we all stood by our desks, facing the flag that hung in our classroom with our hand over our hearts. We knew it word for word by the second week of kindergarten. That was the only time we ever mentioned God in school. Of course, today, it is rare to hear that pledge in a school. I'm OK with that. You know why? Because I don't believe you can take God out of anywhere. Regardless of who your God is, you can't remove Him from the person who believes in Him. He goes where we go. I'm so sick of hearing the religious argument, "__(fill in the blank)__ happened because God was taken from the school." I'm sorry, but you're wrong. My God is always with me. I was taught that by my parents, my family and my church and I believe it to be true. It is not the educators' job to teach your child a religion. That's YOUR job as the parent, if you chose to do so. Learning morals and values starts at home. Your child's teacher builds upon those universal values by leading and teaching in a loving, kind and nurturing way. Whether the teacher is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or Atheist, he or she will love your child and teach your child with the highest of moral standards that comes naturally to all teachers that are truly called to teach. If you want your child to be taught in an atmosphere that is exclusive to one of those religions, put him in a private school that offers that setting.

3. Mental illness. For whatever reason, mental illness and development disorders are the red headed step children of the medical world. Insurance doesn't want to cover it, people don't want to talk about it, and children and adults a like are secretly shunned because they suffer from it. I have been affected directly on this issue in more ways than one and what I have observed infuriates me. Public schools, in general, are not equipped to educate children with mental or developmental issues. They are cast out to the side and their parents are left to wonder how in the world they are going to get them through graduation without wanting to jump off a building. Mental health professionals, in general, are quick to drown patients in medication rather than offering therapy to work through their issues. Medication they quickly become dependent on. It then takes 10 times the effort to wean off the medicines than it would to work through the underlying issues that presented in the beginning. I am NOT saying all mentally ill people can do without medication. I am suggesting that some mentally ill and developmentally challenged individuals need only a specific plan of action and a qualified, caring professional to help them work through their challenges.

4. Westboro. They are NOT baptist. They are NOT a church. Westboro (and I won't even say their full name) is a hate group. The media and the general public need to stop referring to them as a baptist church. This group of people participate in hate crimes against humanity. Hate crimes are illegal, therefore they should be prohibited to "practicing their right to free speech." Wake up folks.

Our country is so quick to lay blame on someone else or a certain policy when tragedy occurs. Perhaps WE are to blame. We, as a nation, are doing our children an injustice. The United States of America is more concerned about foreign policy, the "sanctity of marriage", unborn babies and marijuana rather than focusing on the important stuff. The people of this nation are suffering because our country can't get our priorities straight. Yet, we (parents) are supposed to teach our children to be responsible adults and set appropriate priorities?

I see a problem here. Or maybe I've just lost my mind.